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Todd Archer, ESPN Staff Writer
ARLINGTON, Texas — CeeDee Lamb set the Dallas Cowboys record for catches in a season with a 4-yard reception in the second quarter from Dak Prescott. In the third quarter, he set the team record for most receiving yards in the season.
It just so happens the previous record holder for both marks, Michael Irvin, who set them in 1995, was in attendance at AT&T Stadium for the Jimmy Johnson Ring of Honor ceremony.
“It’s a real moment for me,” Lamb said after the Cowboys’ 20-19 win against the Detroit Lions. “Shoutout to my guys. We continue to work, continue to build, continue to grow. I mean, it showed. I wouldn’t be able to do any of this without them, and we’re looking forward to keeping that going.”
Lamb finished with 13 receptions for 227 yards and a touchdown vs. the Lions to give him 122 catches for 1,651 yards and 11 touchdowns on the season. Irvin had 111 catches for 1,603 yards in 1995, the last time the Cowboys won a Super Bowl.
Lamb’s 92-yard touchdown catch tied Irvin’s mark, but unfortunately for Lamb, he fumbled through the Lions’ end zone for a touchback on his record breaker.
“Hate fumbling,” Lamb said.
Lamb’s 92-yard touchdown reception on the Cowboys’ second possession of the game gave Dallas a 7-3 lead. The Lions should have sacked Dak Prescott near the goal line but a blitzing Derrick Barnes missed the quarterback, who then floated to his right.
Seeing Lamb break free, Prescott lofted a deep pass that Lamb ran under, all while Lions cornerback Kindle Vildor was slipping. Lamb caught the ball at midfield and was able to walk into the end zone. It was the third-longest offensive play from scrimmage in Cowboys history.
“Shoutout Dak for using his legs,” Lamb said. “I just did what I could, stayed available for him. He just gave me an opportunity, and I took it.”
The only longer plays in team history are the 99-yard touchdown run by Tony Dorsett in 1983 against the Minnesota Vikings in which Dallas had just 10 players on the field, and a 95-yard touchdown pass from Don Meredith to Bob Hayes in 1966 against the Washington Redskins.
Lamb recorded his fifth game of his career with at least 150 receiving yards, which is third most in Cowboys history. A team-record four have come this season. Irvin holds the team mark with 10 total, followed by Hayes with seven.
Lamb has also scored a touchdown in eight straight games. His 227 yards were the fourth-most receiving yards in a game by a Cowboy, and 168 of those yards came on third down, the most by any receiver since 2003.
“Remarkable,” Prescott said of Lamb. “That’s who CeeDee Lamb is. … He can do it all and he’s continuing to get better. Wants to get better. Hungry to get better. Hungry for the ball. Has one of the most hungriest mindsets that I’ve been around in this game of football, and it’s fun. Obviously we have a similar mindset. We want the ball in our hands. I can definitely understand and relate. Makes it easy. Makes my job easy, and he’s special. He’s really just getting going.
“I can tell you as long as I’m here, [he will] probably stack these records each and every year, to be honest with you. So this is only the beginning.”
Source: www.espn.com